Alex Plitsas
@alexplitsas.bsky.social
Techie, #SOAAorg Board, #AtlanticCouncil Counterterrorism | Fmr: Bridgewater Associates, Pentagon, IC, #NorthropGrumman | Iraq & Afghan | American U & Hopkins
Pinned
For the inbox folks who asked
PSYOP but not a Green Beret
Combat veteran but nothing valorous
Worked intel programs but not James Bond
Iraq X 2 (uniform & civilian)
Afghanistan X 1 (DoD civilian)
Just an average guy with cool photos
PSYOP but not a Green Beret
Combat veteran but nothing valorous
Worked intel programs but not James Bond
Iraq X 2 (uniform & civilian)
Afghanistan X 1 (DoD civilian)
Just an average guy with cool photos
Vladimir Putin’s “keeper of secrets” died suddenly on Christmas Day, less than two years after the Russian president fired him.
Putin’s ‘Keeper of Secrets’ Dies Suddenly After Firing
Colonel-General Yuri Sadovenko’s sudden Christmas Day death is just the latest around Putin’s orbit.
www.thedailybeast.com
December 27, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Vladimir Putin’s “keeper of secrets” died suddenly on Christmas Day, less than two years after the Russian president fired him.
UK to offer military 'gap year' to boost recruitment
UK to offer military gap year in effort to boost recruitment
The paid 12-month course is aimed at under-25s, with plans for the scheme to grow to 1,000 young people a year.
www.bbc.com
December 27, 2025 at 3:55 PM
UK to offer military 'gap year' to boost recruitment
The Middle East is on the brink of a new crisis. Here’s where it could start.
The Middle East is on the brink of a new crisis. Here’s where it could start.
No one should confuse the patchwork of temporary cease-fire agreements in place throughout the Middle East for sustainable deterrence and peace.
www.atlanticcouncil.org
December 25, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The Middle East is on the brink of a new crisis. Here’s where it could start.
How US troops in World War II celebrated Christmas dinner on the front
How US troops in World War II celebrated Christmas dinner on the front
Amid the hardships of the war, Christmas dinner became an annual reprieve for far-flung troops across the globe.
taskandpurpose.com
December 25, 2025 at 4:26 PM
How US troops in World War II celebrated Christmas dinner on the front
15 years ago today in Baghdad
December 25, 2025 at 4:23 PM
15 years ago today in Baghdad
Did Ukraine invade itself? No
Did Russia invade Ukraine? Yes
Would Russia to take the rest of the country if Ukraine removed its defenses in its own country? Yes
Would Russia withdrawing end the war? Yes
This war rages on only because Russia invaded a sovereign country
Did Russia invade Ukraine? Yes
Would Russia to take the rest of the country if Ukraine removed its defenses in its own country? Yes
Would Russia withdrawing end the war? Yes
This war rages on only because Russia invaded a sovereign country
December 23, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Did Ukraine invade itself? No
Did Russia invade Ukraine? Yes
Would Russia to take the rest of the country if Ukraine removed its defenses in its own country? Yes
Would Russia withdrawing end the war? Yes
This war rages on only because Russia invaded a sovereign country
Did Russia invade Ukraine? Yes
Would Russia to take the rest of the country if Ukraine removed its defenses in its own country? Yes
Would Russia withdrawing end the war? Yes
This war rages on only because Russia invaded a sovereign country
EXCLU: The U.S. moved a large number of special-operations aircraft & multiple cargo planes filled w troops & equipment into the Caribbean area, providing more options for military action in the region, according to U.S. officials & flight-tracking data.
Exclusive | U.S. Moves Troops and Additional Special Operations Aircraft Into Caribbean
The deployment is the latest by the Trump administration to ratchet up the pressure on the Maduro regime in Venezuela.
www.wsj.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:17 PM
EXCLU: The U.S. moved a large number of special-operations aircraft & multiple cargo planes filled w troops & equipment into the Caribbean area, providing more options for military action in the region, according to U.S. officials & flight-tracking data.
US senator urges military action if Hamas, Hezbollah remain armed
US senator urges military action if Hamas, Hezbollah remain armed
JERUSALEM: US Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday (Dec 21) called for renewed military action against Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah if the two groups fail to disarm, accusi
www.channelnewsasia.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:46 PM
US senator urges military action if Hamas, Hezbollah remain armed
Withdrawing from NATO is the most unpopular policy on this chart - louder online doesn’t mean larger in reality.
This isn’t a real movement. It’s a fringe position.
It’s the greatest military alliance in history and Americans deeply understand.
This isn’t a real movement. It’s a fringe position.
It’s the greatest military alliance in history and Americans deeply understand.
December 21, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Withdrawing from NATO is the most unpopular policy on this chart - louder online doesn’t mean larger in reality.
This isn’t a real movement. It’s a fringe position.
It’s the greatest military alliance in history and Americans deeply understand.
This isn’t a real movement. It’s a fringe position.
It’s the greatest military alliance in history and Americans deeply understand.
Another oil tanker has been boarded by the US near Venezuela, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as President Donald Trump intensifies an oil blockade.
US Is Said to Board Third Tanker Off Venezuela as Tensions Mount
The US is still in pursuit of a third oil tanker near Venezuela, according to a US official, as President Donald Trump intensifies an oil blockade on Nicolás Maduro’s government.
www.bloomberg.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Another oil tanker has been boarded by the US near Venezuela, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as President Donald Trump intensifies an oil blockade.
SCOOP: US forces have boarded a THIRD oil tanker near #Venezuela, sources tell #GaripPatricia. The Panamanian-flagged vessel sanctioned by the US was en route to Venezuela to load, one of the people said.
The second boat boarded in the past 24 hours...
The second boat boarded in the past 24 hours...
US Is Said to Board Third Tanker Off Venezuela as Tensions Mount
The US is still in pursuit of a third oil tanker near Venezuela, according to a US official, as President Donald Trump intensifies an oil blockade on Nicolás Maduro’s government.
www.bloomberg.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:43 PM
SCOOP: US forces have boarded a THIRD oil tanker near #Venezuela, sources tell #GaripPatricia. The Panamanian-flagged vessel sanctioned by the US was en route to Venezuela to load, one of the people said.
The second boat boarded in the past 24 hours...
The second boat boarded in the past 24 hours...
Killing the ‘brain trust’: How Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear scientists
Killing the ‘brain trust’: How Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear scientists
A Washington Post-PBS Frontline investigation reveals new details about Israel’s Operation Narnia, targeting Iran’s nuclear scientists during the 12-day war.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Killing the ‘brain trust’: How Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear scientists
Military lawyer swiftly fired from immigration bench after defying Trump deportation push
Military lawyer swiftly fired from immigration bench after defying Trump deportation push
A U.S. Army Reserve lawyer detailed as a federal immigration judge has been fired barely a month into the job after granting asylum at a high rate out of step with the Trump administration’s mass depo...
bit.ly
December 21, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Military lawyer swiftly fired from immigration bench after defying Trump deportation push
US seizes second oil tanker off Venezuela's coast
US seizes vessel in international waters off Venezuela's coast, officials say
The move comes after US President Donald Trump ordered a "blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
www.bbc.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:40 PM
US seizes second oil tanker off Venezuela's coast
U.S. Military Willing to Attack “Designated Terrorist Organizations” Within America, General Says
U.S. Military Willing to Attack “Designated Terrorist Organizations” Within America, General Says (The Intercept)
The commander of the arm of the U.S. military responsible for President Donald Trump’s illegal military occupationsof American cities said he is willing to c...
l.smartnews.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:40 PM
U.S. Military Willing to Attack “Designated Terrorist Organizations” Within America, General Says
Reposted by Alex Plitsas
Photos from a mass wedding ceremony in Al-Zawayda this week, shared by Gaza’s Ministry of Interior, show female police officers working alongside male officers to secure the event in Gaza’s Central Governorate.
According to Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics data for 2024, the Gaza Strip...
According to Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics data for 2024, the Gaza Strip...
December 21, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Photos from a mass wedding ceremony in Al-Zawayda this week, shared by Gaza’s Ministry of Interior, show female police officers working alongside male officers to secure the event in Gaza’s Central Governorate.
According to Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics data for 2024, the Gaza Strip...
According to Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics data for 2024, the Gaza Strip...
‘Russian state-linked hacking groups have snuck into some Ukrainian military staffers’ Signal messenger accounts to gain access to sensitive communications, Google said in a report on Wednesday’.
POLITICO Pro: Russian hackers find ways to snoop on Ukrainian Signal accounts
Phones found on the battlefield are being linked to Moscow’s intelligence services systems for spying, Google finds.
subscriber.politicopro.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:39 PM
‘Russian state-linked hacking groups have snuck into some Ukrainian military staffers’ Signal messenger accounts to gain access to sensitive communications, Google said in a report on Wednesday’.
Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation.
Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation.
At least six career staff were placed on leave after DHS opened an investigation into whether they misled the agency’s acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, into taking the test.
www.politico.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation.
‘We don't know what's going to happen with the oil, but we do know that it's being taken away from Venezuelan President Maduro.’ #idreesali114 on the Trump administration’s pressure on Caracas
Tanker seizure, BP's new CEO and Japan's nuclear restart
The U.S. seizes a second vessel off the coast of Venezuela.
reut.rs
December 21, 2025 at 6:36 PM
‘We don't know what's going to happen with the oil, but we do know that it's being taken away from Venezuelan President Maduro.’ #idreesali114 on the Trump administration’s pressure on Caracas
“Robert Italo Pagnucco was returning home for the holidays with another PepsiCo executive, Harry Bainbridge. Bob and his family lived in South Salem, New York. He leaves his wife, Judy; three sons, Peter, Paul, and Raymond; & a daughter, Michelle Bostrup”
| Pan Am 103 Lockerbie Legacy Foundation
We are dedicated to honoring the December 21, 1988, terrorist attack — the largest recorded crime scene and the oldest cold case in U.S. and U.K. history.
www.pa103ll.org
December 21, 2025 at 6:35 PM
“Robert Italo Pagnucco was returning home for the holidays with another PepsiCo executive, Harry Bainbridge. Bob and his family lived in South Salem, New York. He leaves his wife, Judy; three sons, Peter, Paul, and Raymond; & a daughter, Michelle Bostrup”
US Expands Militarized Zones to a Third of Southern Border, Stirring Controversy
US Expands Militarized Zones to a Third of Southern Border, Stirring Controversy
The zones will be patrolled by at least 7,600 members of the armed forces, vastly expanding the U.S. government presence on the border.
www.military.com
December 20, 2025 at 4:05 PM
US Expands Militarized Zones to a Third of Southern Border, Stirring Controversy
Putin has actively worked to pick his American negotiator(s)
“The Russian president had been studying psychological profiles of the officials around Trump”
“weeks before the inauguration, [Tucker] Carlson encouraged him to speak with the Russians”
“The Russian president had been studying psychological profiles of the officials around Trump”
“weeks before the inauguration, [Tucker] Carlson encouraged him to speak with the Russians”
Witkoff’s Other Backer in His Unlikely Diplomatic Ascent: Putin
The Kremlin release of an American prisoner and a Saudi backchannel bolstered the rise of Trump’s longtime friend.
www.wsj.com
December 20, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Putin has actively worked to pick his American negotiator(s)
“The Russian president had been studying psychological profiles of the officials around Trump”
“weeks before the inauguration, [Tucker] Carlson encouraged him to speak with the Russians”
“The Russian president had been studying psychological profiles of the officials around Trump”
“weeks before the inauguration, [Tucker] Carlson encouraged him to speak with the Russians”
On Nov. 26, as Americans prepared for Thanksgiving, extremist militias in Iraq launched drones and rockets at the only U.S.-funded gas field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Khor Mor.
To foster Middle East peace and prosperity, help Kurdistan fend off extremists
Two steps are urgently needed, says the regional government’s U.S. envoy.
defenseone.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:56 PM
On Nov. 26, as Americans prepared for Thanksgiving, extremist militias in Iraq launched drones and rockets at the only U.S.-funded gas field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Khor Mor.
“They forced me to cook, clean, and fulfill their sexual whims”: Testimony of a Ukrainian woman enslaved by russian soldiers
for the feminists who have advised to not militarise in response to a russian military occupation so that there could be ‘peace’
for the feminists who have advised to not militarise in response to a russian military occupation so that there could be ‘peace’
“They forced me to cook, clean, and fulfill their sexual whims”: Testimony of a Ukrainian woman enslaved by Russian soldiers
At the end of October 2025, the international tribunal in The Hague heard testimony from Olena Yahupova, a resident of the town of Kamianka-Dniprovska in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Region. Recently, Yahupova shared additional details with The Insider, describing how she was abducted by Russian soldiers and detailing the torture and abuse she endured at their hands.
theins.ru
December 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM
“They forced me to cook, clean, and fulfill their sexual whims”: Testimony of a Ukrainian woman enslaved by russian soldiers
for the feminists who have advised to not militarise in response to a russian military occupation so that there could be ‘peace’
for the feminists who have advised to not militarise in response to a russian military occupation so that there could be ‘peace’
“China is pocketing U.S. concessions, identifying new points of leverage over the United States, and using the tactical truces to further fortify itself for the long-term competition with Washington,” writes #jonczin
How Xi Played Trump
Beijing gambled and is now reaping the rewards.
www.foreignaffairs.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:43 PM
“China is pocketing U.S. concessions, identifying new points of leverage over the United States, and using the tactical truces to further fortify itself for the long-term competition with Washington,” writes #jonczin